A firefighter fitness and training apparatus allows a firefighter to simulate pulling of a fire hose and of breaching of a ceiling during a fire and the removing of victims from a hazardous environment.
It is important for firefighters to develop reflexes and muscles to perform the functions that they are commonly called upon to perform during fire and rescue operations. The use of exercise and training machines is very useful in developing such reflexes and muscles and for keeping the firefighters in shape for the specific functions that they are required to be performed. Typical functions that a firefighter may be called upon to do is to drag large sections of fire hose from a fire truck to a fire hydrant or to a better location for the application of water from the fire hydrant. Another common technique for firefighters is the breaching of ceilings in which pike poles or the like are required to be shoved up into ceilings for breaching the ceiling. The firefighters also have to be in condition for removing victims from a hazardous environment. This is commonly done by grasping the victim and dragging him from a hazardous to a safer environment. It is thus desirable to have a firefighter's training equipment in the nature of a fire sled which can provide training in the pulling of a fire hose and in the grasping and dragging of a victim to remove the victim from a hazardous environment as well as simulated training in the breaching of a ceiling in an area where a fire may be in the ceiling.
Prior art patents that may provide useful training for firefighters can be seen in the Rivkin U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,792 for a training and exercise machine for football and wrestling and which can also be used for training firefighters in the development of rapid dynamic reflexes. This patent provides a dummy mounted to a crossbeam. In the Livingston U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,548, a mobile firefighting training trailer is provided having a plurality of rooms and passages with simulated appliances and furniture and having a smoke generator and flame generating devices positioned for simulating fires in a house. In the Ernst et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,270, a firefighting trailer is also provided for training firefighters. In the Tommarello et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,402, a firefighter trainer is provided having personal tracking and constructive entry determination training and trains firefighters to extinguish simulated fire scenarios. In the Musto et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,707, a modular firefighter trainer is provided for use for training firefighters while the Musto et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,571 is a portable fire trainer for use in training by an instructor of company employees in the use of fire extinguishers for extinguishing Class A, B or C fires. In the Joynt et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,437, a portable firefighter training system for fire extinguishing training is provided for educating people in the proper use of firefighting procedures. In the Ott U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,504, a full body, adjustable weight sled exerciser is provided for training football players in tackling or blocking practice. The Rogers et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,136 is a firefighter trainer for use in training firefighters on passenger rescue during aircraft simulated cabin fire and during simulated oil spill module fires. The Welch et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,990 is a firefighter trainer for simulating flashover phenomena and teaches the trainee how to recognize warning signs of flashovers and what follows the warning signs and what to do if confronted with the warning signs. The Dunn U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,081 is a firefighting training method and apparatus for simulating the pumping of water through various long lengths of hose to train firefighters to deliver a proper amount of water through the fire hose. The Deshoux et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,552 is a teaching installation for learning and practicing the use of firefighting equipment, such as fire extinguishers.
The present invention is directed towards a firefighter training and exercising apparatus which has a fire sled equipped for training a firefighter in the pulling of a fire hose and in the breaching of a ceiling and in the removing of a victim from a hazardous environment.